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Interview:
‘If people comply with law, enforcement will not be needed’
Yudhvir Singh Maik, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways tells Vidyottama Sharma that data collected in 2016 shows that 84% of road accidents take place because of drivers’ mistakes, two percent due to road design and about five percent because of automobile technology. “We need to be law-compliant”, he says.
In the last five years, we have expanded our infrastructure but when it comes to road safety, we do not see much of a progress. What changes can be expected?
Yes, road fatality is a very serious concern and there has not been any marked improvement. A 2016 report which was released only a few days back shows that the number of accidents has come down by about 3-4 percent but the number of fatalities has gone up. The data for the first half of 2017 shows some improvement but whether it will be consistent throughout the year I really don’t know. But let’s look at the whole thing. About 1.8 to two percent of the road accidents are being attributed to road design and engineering. Another three to five percent are being attributed to the technology in the automobile and 84 percent are being attributed to the drivers’ mistakes. How do you address that?
Proper awareness has to be created but the governments too haven’t done much when it comes to improving the driver behavior.
You are right, the awareness has to be created. A rigorous system of issuance of driving license is the government’s duty but what is our responsibility as a citizen? We talk everywhere of enforcement but then what happens? What it does is that if the fine is increased, the share of ‘paying’ to get away goes up. If the fine is increased to Rs 1000, the share of the person allowing you to go will go up to Rs 500. Why do we give him an opportunity of enforcement if we are self-compliant with law? As a citizen am I supposed to be compliant with law or not? If I am, there will be no need for enforcement.
Over the last six decades we have seen that this self-compliance is not happening. Doesn’t the government then have to become a little more strict? It will ultimately come down to enforcement only.
That is what is happening. As a matter of fact the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill which has been passed by the Lok Sabha and, which is before the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha has provisions which are much more deterrent than what they were. I think it was easy for anybody to say, ‘ok, I pay you Rs 100 as my challan’ and move out of the situation but if the person has to pay Rs 5000, probably he will think twice. So eventually it brings compliance by deterrence — not by behavior or inculcation of a conduct of a value system, which is not a happy situation. Awareness is required. And more emphasis is required on the system under which we issue the driving licenses, and on driver training schools. All these features are being provided for in the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill. We want some of these features to come through this new Bill.
“Often the experience is that despite having FASTag and balance on the card, the toll plaza staff does not operate it. The general excuse is: ‘Kaam nahin kar raha. Aap cash mein de kar jaao’. We have to bring in a system that if we want the road users to use the FASTag and if the technology is non-functional at a toll plaza, the road user must be entitled to a free pass. The moment we bring in that kind of discipline, that operator will ensure that his technology is functional 24/7.
Bharatmala and quite a few projects have been taken up by the government in a big way to provide proper infrastructure on a large scale. Can you run us through the positive atmosphere that prevails when it comes to infrastructure?
Well, what you have to do is you have to choose whether you want to drive on the golden quadrilateral or on North-South or East-West corridors or any of those. Yes, I get a lot of scolding from people if there are some potholes in some packages but people, not very happily, also recognize that there are wonderful roads and that they can drive at a speed of 120. For such infrastructure they assume that yeh to government ko dena hee dena hai (it is the government’s duty to give this). But if they find an unrepaired pothole, they get angry. Anyway, they have a right to be angry. But road in terms of connectivity is really bringing about efficient mobility.
Now we are focusing on hilly terrains, in difficult areas. If you travel from Jammu to Srinagar, the journey takes about 10 to 12 hours. But now, Chenani Nashri tunnel of nine and a half kilometres reduces the distance by 31 km. It is an all-weather tunnel. We are doing four more tunnels like that. The ultimate target is to bring the Jammu to Srinagar distance down to five hours. But much more than that, the connectivity with Kashmir is serving a larger national interest – by making those people a part of the rest of India.
There is a feeling of positivity on the infrastructure projects taken up by the government. But you are also sceptical when it comes to technology. You said at our conference that technology goes piggy-ride on infrastructure…
I will explain. For example, NHAI has 371 toll plazas on all its National Highways out of which 361 are operational. I am not happy with the experience that a road user has on the toll plaza. If he has to queue up, be there for long hours and be uncertain about timings, then it is not serving the purpose. Added to that is also a problem in certain cases where you have a closed tolling system or open tolling system. In both those situations, I end up paying more. For example if my tolling plaza is at 60km, and if I travel only for 20km, I am still paying a toll for 60km. I grudge that. So what I have requested my colleagues in NHAI is to set a target for two to three years down the line, and graduate to a system that gives a barrier boom free toll plaza. We have ANPR cameras and a GPS system, and we must pay for the toll for only that segment of the highway that we use. We are looking at that but for that first you have to have roads – if you do not have roads then where will you use that technology? That is why I am saying that we should use the technology to optimize those solutions.
We have been debating for ETC management on the toll plazas for quite some time now. By the 31st of October, 100 percent of lanes on the toll plazas have to be fixed with the ETC infrastructure, particularly FASTag infrastructure. Earlier, it was only single lane. What I am asking Akhilesh Srivastav (Chief General Manager –IT & Highway Operations, NHAI) is that if you have eight lanes, first two lanes have to be dedicated as FASTag lanes. Earlier it was one lane. Eventually as penetration of FASTag goes up, it may need to be three lanes. But often the experience is that despite having FASTag and balance on the card, the toll plaza staff does not operate that. The general excuse is: “Kaam nahin kar raha. Aap cash mein de kar jaao” (It is not working. You pay in cash). This is because probably there is an interest to go in for cash transaction. So I was telling my team that we need to stop that and for that if they need to sign a supplementary agreement with the concessionaire, they must sign it. After such an installation, we have to bring in a system that if we want the road users to use the FASTag and if the technology is non-functional at a toll plaza, the road user must be entitled to a free pass. The moment we bring in that kind of discipline, that operator will ensure that his technology is functional 24/7.
Is that feasible?
Well, we look at the feasibility thereof when we start thinking. That is the thought and now we have to look at how we can make it feasible.
You said in your address at the conference that you are lucky to be working with a minister who is pro-active and who takes a personal interest in the work. So, how is it working with Mr Nitin Gadkari?
It has been a wonderful experience even though it has not been a long one. I was seven months in NHAI and have been with MoRTH since two months but the first thing is that he is forward looking. He looks forward to doing something. He discusses. He is open to the others’ views. And he takes those into consideration. We fondly call him, not out of any negativity, a road roller. He rolls over. That is the kind of enthusiasm he has. But I have also seen that when I give my view and he likes it, he says that ‘your opinion is better than mine on this’. What more do I need? We are working absolutely in tandem.
Quite a few companies abroad have been wanting to start their manufacturing units in India. A lot has been eased by Mr Modi’s government but what more benefits can you give them to start their manufacturing units here?
Let them first begin manufacturing. Let them first take advantage of the atmosphere that has been created. Is the demand unending? Is this list unending? We have a complete open door policy. We have given a preference to Make in India, and the states are welcoming you. I think there will have to be an end to ‘what more’? And they have to become a part of the system.